52 Weeks of Mail

My friend Molly Lee, pop-up card genius and paper artist, clued me into the Etsy sponsored 52 weeks of Mail project by sending me a glittery bike girl card.  I've been wanting to commit to something like this, so it gave me a nudge to rediscover the art of written correspondence on actual paper.

My first piece is a card for my father-in-law Al Drake of Flatout Press.  He loves the anything to do with the fiftties and hot rods and has written several books on the subject. In fact, he still uses a manual typewriter. I thought this was a fitting start since he still corresponds with friends and businesses alike via mail and his trusty Olivetti.

I was inspired to dust off my old $5 flea market typewriter. I wrote my first term paper on it in High School: A Coming of Age analysis of To Kill a Mockingbird, A Separate Peace, Catcher in the Rye, and Member of  the Wedding.  I'm happy to say that here in Portland you can still buy ribbons and have your typewriter serviced and repaired at Ace Typewriter!

So consider this a nudge to see if you can still write by hand, lick an envelope, and stick on a stamp.

Hot Damn, girl!

Geek Girl Con (October 8, 9) has got me all wound up over my Cura Te Ipsum pop-up cards. Cura is a web comic written by Neal Bailey about a guy who has multiple versions of himself in an undetermined number of realities. I'm rolling out a series focusing on Charlene, the super tough female incarnation of Charlie Everett. She's a get it done kinda gal. She might shoot you, but then again she might take a bullet for you. In the first card I made she's throwing a punch at Charlie prime.  The second features the gun-toting, no bullshit Charlene, along with a short bio. 

Shout out to Neal Bailey: How about adding another female character? She would be about 5 foot tall, wear glasses, be nerdy but smart, and highly attractive. (She's no Velma in this story!) You could call her something like....CharLinda! Just throwing out some ideas here!

 
If you get a chance, stop by Neal's table (Artist's Alley, Booth 211) at Geek Girl Con to check out my cards, and the comic book. Otherwise, we'll have the new Charlene cards on sale the Cura Store after the con.


Postscript:  Deadlines are fun, but cleanup is not!

Cura Te Ipsum Comic Art in Pop-up

I've recently taken interest in following web comics. Not ever having been a fan, this a totally new experience. I got hooked on Neal Bailey's Cura Te Ipsum, the story of Charlie Everett and his multiple counterparts in an undetermined number of realities. I'm taken by the defined lines in comic art and see the possibilities of translating the work into 3 dimensions. This picture is a combination of two posters you'll find on the website. The portal in Cura Te Ipsum, or rather the gateway to the other Charlies and other universes, provides an opportunity to express the pictures in multiple layers. Of course the drama of a gun pointed at the reader hints at the "coming at you" feeling anyway. I'm looking at comic art in a whole new light.

Update: Neal Bailey has made a video of my pop-ups so that you can see them in action!

Note: This is unauthorized fan art.

Barbie's Dreamhouse

I wanted to do a collage pop-up for my last day of the Paper Arts Series. So I surprised myself by making this card. My older sisters had Barbies, but I had Skipper, her plain Jane little sister. With no boyfriend, I might add. My friend Lisa had the Barbie Townhouse, and the Barbie Jet Plane. My Skipper doll hung out with the groovy, granola Sunshine Family. Life in the slow lane, for sure. My friend Ann had, treasure of all treasures, the Barbie Styling head. A giant Barbie head that came with hairbrushes and make-up so that you could make her all pretty. I never got one.

So when I found this giant Barbie in a big print sample book, I decided to decorate her my own way. I'm fond of the hummingbird earring and the wise old owl suggesting....what? There are brains behind the blonde? Note as well the bird of paradise perched just behind the woodpecker tapping on her head.

Pop-up Valentine Workshop

How to mend a broken heart? Cut it up and glue it to some cardstock! Join me on Saturday, February 6th from 2 to 4 for my Pop-up Valentine workshop at the Modern Spool studio. Nothing says "Don't you think I'm cool?" like a pop-up work of art. I hope you can join me!